Ed Pinkham (American football)

Ed Pinkham (born September 6, 1953) is an American college football coach who was most recently the defensive pass game coordinator for the Arkansas State Red Wolves.[1] He is a former American college football player for the Allegheny Gators[2] and a native of Clark, New Jersey.[3]

Ed Pinkham
Biographical details
Born (1953-09-06) September 6, 1953
Playing career
1971–1974Allegheny
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975–1976Allegheny (WR/DB)
1977–1983New Hampshire (DB)
1984–1988New Hampshire (DC)
1989–1991Minnesota (DB)
1992–1995New Holy Cross (DC)
1996–2007Colgate (DC)
2008Rutgers (DB)
2009–2010Rutgers (DC)
2011–2012Elon (DC)
2013–2016Western Michigan (DC)
2017–2018UMass (DC)
2019Arkansas State (interim DL)
2020Arkansas State (DPGC)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
  • Allegheny Hall of Fame
  • Associated Press (AP) All-America honors
  • 4× All-PAC selection

Playing career

Pinkham played football at Arthur L. Johnson High School. In college, he played for the Allegheny Gators from 1971 to 1974 on defense and special teams. As a defender, he posted 14 career interceptions (a second all-time in program history), including a PAC-leading six picks as a freshman in 1971. Pinkham averaged 22.9 yards per kick return, scoring two touchdowns over his career, and 13.8 yards per return with three touchdowns on punt returns. His two punt return touchdown in a single season ties him for the most in Allegheny history.[4] His 81-yard punt return for a touchdown in a 1971 win over Case still stands as the third-longest in program history, while his 91-yard kick return score in 1974 is good for sixth-longest in team history. As a senior in 1974, he earned second team Associated Press (AP) All-America honors after tallying two interceptions and 31 tackles, while ranking in the top-10 in the NCAA in both kick return (25.2) and punt return (12.8) average. That season, he helped spearhead a Gator unit that ranked eighth nationally in total defense (181.4 yards/game), as the Gators finished 7-1 overall and captured the PAC title. For his career, Pinkham was a four-time All-PAC selection, two-time All-Pennsylvania selection, and two-time Pittsburgh Press All-District pick. He was inducted into the Allegheny Hall of Fame in 1988.[2]

Coaching career

1975 to 2007

Ed Pinkham has been coaching for over 40 years, and has over 30 years of experience at the defensive coordinator position. In 1989, he became a secondary coach at the University of Minnesota. He was the secondary coach and defensive coordinator over a 12-year stint at the University of New Hampshire. Pinkham was defensive coordinator and associate head coach at the College of the Holy Cross for four seasons. At Minnesota, for the first two seasons he coached the outside linebackers, before moving over to the secondary. Pinkham led the defense at Colgate from 1996 through 2008. During his tenure at Colgate, the Raiders captured five Patriot League titles and earned five trips to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The defensive unit led the Patriot League in total defense in 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2006, and three times paced the league in rushing defense.

2008 to 2012

Pinkham's return to the FCS level saw his defensive unit rate third nationally against the pass as Elon allowed an average of just 153.55 yards per game through the air. The unit also rated in the top 40 nationally in total defense. The Phoenix defense amassed 17 sacks, besting its total from the previous season by four. He served in the same capacity at Rutgers in 2009–10. In his first season as co-defensive coordinator, Pinkham helped the Rutgers defense reach great heights as the Scarlet Knights ranked in the top-20 in five categories, including leading the nation in tackles for loss and ranking second in turnover margin. Rutgers was 15th in the country in rushing defense, 16th in scoring defense and 18th in total defense.

2013 to 2017

When Pinkham coached at WMU, the team had the third-ranked scoring defense in the MAC at 24.9 points per game and second in total defense at 371.2 yards per game.[5] They ranked 15th nationally in scoring defense (19.8 points per game), 26th in total defense (353.6 yards per game) and tied for first in turnover margin (plus-18), and helped lead the team to a 13–0 season.[6]

2017 to 2018

Pinkham begin coaching at UMass in 2017 as their new defensive coordinator.[7] The team went 4–8 in 2017, their best record in five years. Pinkham has received good reviews both from his players and outside observers for helping to turn the Minutemen around.[8] His time at UMass saw the program record its most wins in back-to-back seasons in its seven-year history as an FBS member, while also collecting its first win over a team from one of the power-five conferences.

2019 to present

Pinkham entered his first season as the Red Wolves’ interior defensive line coach in 2019.[1] He was fired on October 16, 2020.[9]

Bowl games

Ed Pinkham has coached in a bowl game six times over the course of his career, with a 4–2 record.

Year Team Bowl Opponent Result
January 5, 2008 Rutgers International Bowl Ball State W 52–30
December 29, 2008 Rutgers PapaJohns.com Bowl North Carolina State W 29–23
December 19, 2009 Rutgers St. Petersburg Bowl Central Florida W 45–24
December 20, 2014 Western Michigan 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Air Force Falcons L 38–24
December 24, 2015 Western Michigan 2015 Bahamas Bowl Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders W 45–31
January 2, 2017 Western Michigan 2017 Cotton Bowl Classic Wisconsin Badgers L 24–16

References
  1. "Ed Pinkham Bio". ArkansasStateRedWolves.com. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  2. "Allegheny Foursome Honored by PAC". Allegheny College. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  3. Luicci, Tom. "Elon hires former Rutgers defensive coordinator Ed Pinkham", The Star-Ledger, February 15, 2011. Accessed April 5, 2020. "Pinkham spent the past three seasons as Rutgers' co-defensive coordinator (with Bob Fraser) and as the secondary coach. The Clark native was expected to be one of two coaches to be let go after Greg Schiano hired former Pittsburgh assistants Jeff Hafley and Brian Angelichio without formally releasing two current staffers."
  4. "Football Season Records". Allegheny College. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  5. "Ed Pinkham Bio". WMUBroncos.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  6. "Ed Pinkham Named Defensive Coordinator - University of Massachusetts". University of Massachusetts Athletics. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  7. "UMass football names Ed Pinkham defensive coordinator". masslive.com. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  8. VAUTOUR, MATT (December 4, 2017). "It could be an interesting offseason for the UMass football team". Daily Hampshire Gazette.
  9. "Arkansas State head coach fires defensive coordinator, defensive pass-game coordinator". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
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